The Devils inked Bobby Butler to a one-year, two-way contract after he was bought out by the Ottawa Senators.
Butler wasn’t able to earn a permanent spot with the Senators as a top-six forward, but Devils GM Lou Lamoriello thinks he still has that kind of potential.
“There’s no question he was goal scorer in college and certainly in the first (36) games in Ottawa his first year,” Lamoriello said, based on a report from the Bergen Record. Butler had 10 goals and 21 points in 36 games with Ottawa as a rookie.
“He showed he can score and then for whatever reason, and these things happen when there’s a coaching change, he didn’t get as much as ice time (only 11:28 per game after playing 15:25 per game in 2010-11)—not through anyone’s fault,” Lamoriello added. “He also played in Binghamton for (former Devils assistant and AHL head coach) Kurt Klienendorst when they won the Calder Cup, so we know a lot about him there and also his college coach (Dick Umile) I had at Providence. So, we know enough about him.”
Butler will be “given every opportunity” to make the team out of training camp.
